By far the most accessible and indeed, popular type of flyfishing for trout in the UK is stillwater fly-fishing. With lochs, reservoirs and lakes spread the length of the British Isles, plus many commercial, purpose-built small stillwater fisheries, the UK fly-angler is never too far from trout fishing of some sort throughout the year.

On a boat, drifting through the waves on a large English reservoir picking up the strong, midge-feeding, silver-sided rainbows with a team of buzzers or dries; rapidly pulling lures on a slime line; walking the banks pulling traditional wets through the surface for beautiful wild browns on one of the Scottish lochs or Irish loughs; stalking a doublefigure trophy fish with a tungsten bead bug, under the overhanging trees of a small, gin-clear pond or trailing our fast sink line, with short leader and booby nymph, up the bank through the depths of a well-stocked gravel pit in the hope of pulling one of those larger bottom-feeders that never show themselves until we use the right tactics to fool them.

The variety of fishing situations, techniques, flies, retrieves and results are endless on UK stillwaters, that is why this side of the sport appeals to so many and helps bring forth new anglers with the ever growing, easy access to day-ticket waters.

Choosing which rod and line to use has always caused strong debate among anglers. To offer a fairly general guide: the 9ft rod reigns as the best all-rounder for bank fishing, whereas boat fishermen fare best using a 10-footer. A reservoir fisher, who perhaps does both bank and boat fishing, would do well to pick out a 9ft 6in #7 fly rod offering him a versatile and pleasurable casting tool of a line weight manageable when using a team of three flies in most conditions. For small stillwaters and the angler who might do a little stalking too, the choice should be a rod no longer than 9ft, with #6 being the popular line choice.

Rod design has improved so much in the last decade or so, with fastaction, powerful yet slim blanks becoming recognised as the norm in top brands. Many anglers find they can actually step down one line size and still cast their flies the same distance or further with less effort, thus enabling them to enjoy the light feel when casting and also greater sport when playing fish. It's only a matter of time before all small-water anglers are using a #5 rod and line to chase trout.

Anglers with an affinity for one aspect of the sport, small stillwaters for example, often feel unnerved by larger waters and are reluctant to take on the challenge of an initially daunting reservoir. While small waters can be easy at times, they do after all hold trout - those annoyingly finicky creatures that fascinate and excite us – so, they are the perfect place to gain confidence in fishing imitative patterns correctly with great success. These skills can then be transferred directly onto larger waters.

Where the small-water fisher might pitch one fly to a rising fish relatively close to the bank, with casting skills honed a little (with help from a qualified instructor) pretty soon the same techniques can be used to cast a team of two, three or more flies over the open water of any lake or reservoir. Cover fish at varying depths in this way and take fish that often fight hard and surprise us with their strength for size, compared with those caught in smaller put-and-take fisheries.

Bite the bullet, take time to learn the techniques and find out which flies will give you success. Study the hot spots, prevailing winds, temperature, sunshine, bank contours and bank-side vegetation - as well as weed beds, structures and, most importantly of all, the food available to the trout and the depth at which they feed. Then, and only then, do we realise that it is not simply a game of luck, but of knowledge and skill learnt through experience. Time spent doing what we love and, in the end, enjoying the rewards - the buzz of the catch. That is, after all, what fly-fishing is all about.